The Artisan Breadbakers - Zoe and Jeff - have a new "Bread Baking Book"

[Mira]

This one has only been out a few days: "Healthy Bread in Five Minutes a Day".

Since I have long baked all my bread, and have liked their first book, these recipes look very intriguing though there is not that much change except it's whole wheat breads, and they recommend using Vital Wheat Gluten to the tune of about one and a half T per cup of flour to help it rise.

They also recommend handling the dough extremely little, in order to not collapse the rising that has taken place in the fridge.

I have tested the Whole Grain Master Recipe, and made a mixture of sunflower seeds, coarse maize and flaxseeds to sprinkle on top, and came up with some extremely delicious and yummy looking bread. I want the next to rise a bit more, I used the min amount of yeast recommended, and will use more next time.

But so far, it's all thumbs up.

[grasswire]

1. where does vital wheat gluten come from?

I might be totally ignorant about this, but wasn't there some kind of a fuss about some gluten coming from China?

[Mira]

2. You made me smile - with the China comment. Though you may know something I don't

No - it is a more potent part of the grain as I understand it, and it helps the whole wheat flour to rise more effectively.
I got it at my whole foods store, a pound or so for about 6 bucks. Not bad, since it is doled out in tablespoons.
You can get it on line also.

But since then I saw it in my regular, simple grocery store run by Mexican entrepreneurs.

[housewolf]

3. It's produced from flour

They add water to flour and knead it to produce strands of gluten, then wash out the flour, dry the gluten strands and grind it up into powder or, alternately, the gluten protein is separated from the starch during a wet-milling process.

You can make your own, if you are so inclined. I made some one time, as an experiment. What a messy project that was! It's probasbly not be cost-effective to really do that - Bob's Red Mill sells a 22 oz bag for $7.50, a case of 4 bags (6 lbs) for $27.20, a 25 lb bag for $55.44 (now, THAT would really last a home baker forever!). I don't know whether they make their own or if they purchase from a supplier and re-package.

As for a country of origin, I really don't know. Like most agricultural products, "country of origin" labelling is not required at the consumer level. We produce much of what is used in the US here (3 or 4 major US producers) and we also import from the EU, Australia, Canada and China (that I know of; there may be others too).

[grasswire]

4. ah I found it

Tainted wheat gluten flour from China was responsible for pet deaths in the U.S. a few years back. It contained melamine. That particular company was banned from importing it to the U.S. but Chinese product makes up 20 percent of our import (in 2006 and doubled since 2005). Only four U.S. companies make wheat gluten, making 20 percent of domestic demand.

Just fyi for those who try not to buy Chinese foodstuffs. I know Bob's Red Mill carries it, and I would suspect that theirs is domestic. I'll check on that.

[grasswire]

5. Bob's Red Mill vital wheat gluten is sourced in Kansas.

That's what customer service tells me. Kansas wheat, processed there.

[katkat]

6. more melamine

There was something in the Times within about the past week about melamine again in food products within China. Didn't say anything about it being exported this time.

Flour, I never thought of that as a potential problem, I assumed it was all coming from the Midwest. Sigh.

Maybe it's just today, but I feel like we in the U.S. have gone from a basically decent or improvable society to living in something like MadMax land...

[grasswire]

8. yeah, salon.com had an article asking why we import wheat stuff..

...from China!? I guess it's the process that makes vital wheat gluten more expensive to produce. Quite a process. And of course it is eaten across Asia as a meat substitute (seitan).

But lucky for us, there's Bob's Red Mill! And ordering from the web site is easy for those who can't get the products locally.

(I live about three miles from their factory and store, lucky me.)

[housewolf]

9. Many health food stores & co-ops around the country sell Bob's Red Mill products, too

some major health food distributors supply it to stores in many local areas. King Arthur's sells it too for $5.75 per lb, but I'm not sure who their source is. I'm sure they'd tell if asked.

[housewolf]

7. Oh yeah, melamine in pet food

That was a major scandal and tragedy a few years ago. That was a huge scare for quite some time. I didn't realize that wheat gluten was the source of the malamine.

[madmax]

10. Also baby formula

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122764783105057435.html

[madmax]

11. Why can't I find good bread in NC?

Or pizza! Something about the water?

I have found 2 companies that a decent loaf of French & Italian bread which is available at our local Lowe's. Ace which is located in Canada and Anthony's from NJ. Have to get to Lowe's early before they run out.

Hardly any bakeries, either. :mad: How's by you in Winston/Salem?

Heard there is a great NYC style bakery in Wake Forest but, that's about an hour from me. :(

[Mira]

12. We have a couple of Panera Bread's - I don'tknow how you feel about them.

Also a Whole Foods we can get wonderful breads. I don't buy them though, I make mine.

[hippywife]

13. That's changed in Tulsa since

there have been a couple of good organic bakeries open up, not the pizza, tho. When I first moved down here I had to learn to make a lot of things myself because they were either non-existent or substandard.

:hi: